"You did it, you brilliant bastard." Lucien laughed as he took a mouthful of his wine." I don't deserve all the credit, I only came up with the plan. You guys are the ones who went and fought out there. "Damien said as he took a sip of his wine. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He went to grab his chest but discovered a harrowing fact, he couldn't move his body at all. "Oh Damien, you were always too smart for your own good," Lucien said as he stood up, contempt oozing from his eyes. Damien was a single child raised whose parents died shortly after he was born, an effect of war. He grew up in an orphanage, where he was bullied by others due to his weak physique. That's where he met Lucien.
They stayed friends throughout their days in the orphanage, and when they turned 16, they enlisted in the army, where Damien's talents fully came into the spotlight. He quickly rose through the ranks due to his brilliant strategies that earned the nation great success in the war. Lucien, too, was a gifted leader, leading his troops into the front lines and emerging victorious. And now they had returned from the empire's last frontier battle. victory came with cheers and a dagger hidden in the wine.
He looked into Lucien's eyes, trying to find a trace of something that wasn't there. Finally, he collapsed on the ground, his vision slowly turning dark. "All those sleepless nights I spent planning your victories. I ignored my friends and my family. At the same time, you planned for my downfall. "As he lay there on the ground, his vision fading into nothing, all his panic and grief morphed into seething rage, but it was too late as he took his final breath and sank into the abyss.
In a vast expanse filled with darkness, Damien opened his eyes. "Huh, where am I? I clearly remember dying. "As he recalled the past events leading up to his death, he felt himself boiling with anger. but he had other things to worry about right now. After gathering his thoughts, he decided to try and explore this dark space. After walking for who knows how long, there was finally a change. Before him was a book which has an ancient feel to it, and an aura of absolute dominance. Just standing there made him feel an innate desire to bow down and prostrate himself. After fighting the urge, he took a step toward the book as he inspected it more closely. Gilded patterns lined up its spine, glowing a golden hue, golden constellations embedded on the edges of the covers, at the center of the cover, there was a single closed eye, one still had the feeling of being watched as they looked at it. He reached out to touch it and suddenly, as if it had been given life, it started to float around him until it came to a halt in front of him.
Then it opened and everything came to a stop, time and space had all been frozen as golden chains erupted from its page and bound him. He struggled to get free, but soon realized it was all for nothing. Soon, crimson words started to appear on the page.
"Through agony, ascend,
Through blood, command,
Power is not given, it is carved,
Break the heavens, to be its master,
KNEEL, BLEED AND RISE. OR BE FORGOTTEN."
As he finished reading the words, the golden chains shattered, and the dust converged around him, forming a cocoon. He felt his consciousness waning, he tried to resist, but it was all futile. After what felt like an eternity, he opened his eyes and for a moment he thought he was still dreaming. It was still dark, but he could still see clearly. The giant trees around him formed a canopy that allowed only traces of the moonlight to pass through. He quickly shot up and surveyed his surroundings. Only now did he realize that up in the sky, two moons illuminated the vast starry night. "How can this be? have I transmigrated?" Damien thought as he looked at himself," Wait, whose body is this, and why is there blood all over me? "Damien continued to be more puzzled by the sudden turn of events.
As he was about to take a step forward, he felt a piercing pain in his head that caused him to hold his head almost tearing it off, as he fell to the ground." Aaargh, what is happening, it feels like my head is being split into two.' He yelled in agony, sweat trickling down his forehead. Time passed slowly, every second feeling like an eternity. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the pain finally receded, and with that, a wave of information flooded his mind. It turns out that the world was a world of cultivation, a world of myth and legends, where gods and demons existed. powerful cultivators who could split the heavens into two with a single slash and crush mountains with a single punch. . After sorting out all the information, he learnt that He was currently in the continent of Everbane, which had two empires named, the Everbane empire and the Noxium empire,which had many kingdoms within.Right now he was in the Solaris kingdom,which belonged to the Everbane empire.The previous host of this body was a lad named Kael, who was going to the take the entrance exam for the local sect, but on his way there disaster befell him. He was attacked by four wind wolves, and with no way to defend himself, he met his untimely death there.
Damien burst into a mad laugh," It seems that the heavens or gods favor me to give me a second chance. In my first life, I was taken advantage of, plotted against, and eventually killed, but in this life, I shall take everything that I'm owed and then some," he said amidst his laugh. " Oh, wait, what happened to that book?" Damien thought as he regained his composure, he realized that he had overlooked an important detail. And as if answering his call, he felt a subtle pull from his chest. He took off his shirt, which was already in pieces, and looked at his chest. And on the left side of his chest, there was a tattoo of a book. When he concentrated, he could feel the book, but something was blocking him from accessing it. he sighed," It seems like some mysteries will have to wait for now," he said as he looked in the direction of Elora City, where the sect exams would be held. "I need to get stronger as fast as possible, and right now joining a sect is the easiest and safest way to do that," he said as a fierce glint flashed across his eyes. He still remembered the words in the book: kneel, bleed, rise, or be forgotten. He picked up his leather pouch, which was surprisingly still in good condition. Inside, he found thirty pieces of silver, which were supposed to be for food and accommodations once he reached the city.
He quickly changed his clothes as he inspected his body. Kael was a 16-year-old boy. Accustomed to hard labor, his body was well-toned, something that made Damien happy, after being plagued by a weak body in his previous life. Aside from that, his characteristics were those of an average person. After he was done inspecting his new body, he finally left. The exams were a week away, and Elora city was only three days away if he didn't dally on the way there.